Hijacked Ship News

Somali pirates released a hijacked ship, MV Abdullah, and its crew of 23 early on Sunday after a $5 million ransom was paid, according to two pirates."The money was brought to us two nights ago as usual... we checked whether the money was fake or not. Then we divided the money into groups and left, avoiding the government forces," Abdirashiid Yusuf, one of the pirates, told Reuters.He added the ship had been released with all its crew.Somalia government officials did not respond to a request for comment.The MV Abdullah…

India will bring in and prosecute 35 Somali pirates its navy captured on a hijacked ship off Somalia, a navy official said, in a departure from its recent practice of rescuing vessels and crew but leaving the disarmed pirates at sea.The captured pirates are due to arrive in India on Saturday and will be handed over to the law enforcement agencies, the official said. He declined to be identified as he was not authorised to speak to the media.The exact charges against the pirates were not immediately clear…

Somali police and international navies were preparing on Monday to attack a commercial ship that was hijacked by pirates last week, the Puntland region's police force said, two days after Indian commandos rescued another cargo vessel held by pirates.The MV Abdullah was hijacked off the coast of Somalia last week, the latest of more than 20 attacks since November by Somali pirates who had laid dormant for nearly a decade.On Saturday, the Indian navy rescued another cargo vessel, the Maltese-flagged MV Ruen, which had been seized in December, freeing its 17 crew members and arresting 35 pirates.

Somali pirates who seized the Maltese-flagged bulk cargo ship Ruen in December may have used the vessel in the takeover of a Bangladesh-flagged cargo ship off the coast of Somalia two days ago, the European Union naval force said on Thursday.Somali pirates caused chaos in important global waterways for a decade leading up to 2018, but had been dormant until a resurgence of attacks starting late last year.If confirmed, Tuesday's attack from a confiscated ship would mark a return…

A merchant ship sailing off Somalia has been hijacked by unknown raiders, Spain's defence ministry said on Tuesday, fuelling fears pirates are returning to the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea waters already plagued by a surge in attacks on shipping.A Spanish warship rushed to check on the Maltese-flagged vessel Ruen on Friday after reports it had been hijacked. It "has been under piracy (control) since the morning of Dec. 14," the ministry said in a statement, in its first confirmation of the ship's fate."The MV Ruen has indeed been hijacked.

An operation led by British navy special forces is under way to retake control of an Italian cargo ship off the English coast after stowaways threatened crew members on Friday, the political editor of The Sun newspaper said, Reuters reported.Police said earlier they did not think the incident aboard the Grande Tema in the Thames Estuary - involving four stowaways - was piracy or terrorism related.(Reuters writing by William Schomberg, Editing by James Dalgleish)

Somali pirates released a hijacked oil tanker and its eight Sri Lankan crew on Thursday, a Somali security official and the pirates said, bringing the first hijacking since 2012 to an unusually swift conclusion without the payment of a ransom. The release followed a gunfight earlier in the day between the pirates and the marine force, and then intensive negotiations between the marine force, clan elders and the pirates. "There has been discussion going on after the gunfight of this afternoon ...

Somali forces have been sent to free a hijacked ship, a regional police official said on Tuesday.   "We are determined to rescue the ship and its crew. Our forces have set off to Alula. It is our duty to rescue ships hijacked by pirates and we shall rescue it," Abdirahman Mohamud Hassan, director general of Puntland’s marine police forces, told Reuters by phone.   Puntland is a semi-autonomous northern region. Alula is a port town there where pirates have taken the Aris 13 and her eight Sri Lankan crew. (Reporting by Abdiqani Hassan; editing by Andrew Roche; writing by Katharine Houreld)

The hijacked oil tanker Orkim Harmony has been released by pirates, who fled in the ship's rescue boat, Malaysian navy and maritime officials said on Friday. The Orkim Harmony, hijacked on June 11 off the Malaysian coast by pirates reportedly armed with pistols and machetes, was now being escorted by the navy to Malaysia's Kuantan Port. Officials said only one member of the 22 crew was injured, suffering a gunshot wound to the thigh. Three Malaysian navy ships and two aircraft were hunting the fleeing pirates. The hijacking is the second seizure of a tanker by pirates in Southeast Asia this month, raising further concerns over piracy in the region.

More so than many other fields of business, the maritime industry is focused on cost, which in turn gives the appearance of being conservative towards technology. Of course, we have magnificently technical ships operating with equipment that wouldn’t look out of place in a NASA lab, but in general, it can take decades for a technology to become mainstream. Unless it becomes mandated by the IMO. Vessel tracking is a partial exception to the rule though, with many fleet owners realizng its potential for more cost-effective operation and improved vessel and personnel security.

Somali pirates holding a hijacked ship for nearly two years killed a Syrian hostage crew member and wounded another. This is believed to be the first time Somali pirates have killed a hostage because of a delay in ransom. Hassan Abdi, a pirate commander in Haradhere town, a key pirate center, said that the killing was a message to the owners of the ship MV Orna, a Panama-flagged, bulk cargo vessel owned by a company in the United Arab Emirates) hijacked off Seychelles in 2010. Somali pirates hijacked the MV Orna after firing rocket propelled grenades and small arms at the ship in December 2010, when it was about 400 miles northeast off the Seychelles. Source: Navy Times/AP

"Each vessel was welcomed individually," Captain Roman Martov told RIA Novosti. The naval squadron, including the Varyag missile cruiser, three Udaloy class destroyers and three fleet support ships, will join 16 Chinese surface ships for drills in the Yellow Sea between Aril 22 and 27. "The exercises will involve several simulated missions, including the rescue of a hijacked ship, the escort of a commercial vessel, and the defense a convoy from air and sea attacks," a Russian defense ministry spokesman said.

Iranian commandos reportedly stormed, released the Bolivian-flagged 63,400 dwt bulk carrier from pirate control Military sources informed the report that Iranian commandos stormed the Iranian-owned, Bolivian reglistered bulk carrier Eglantine, which is steaming towards the Omani port of Salalah, according to news carried by 'Somalia Report'. The 12-year old bulk carrier was seized by pirates 305 nm northwest of the Malivian capital Male late last month carrying a cargo of sugar from Brazil. She is owned by Andulena Corp of Tehran, and has a crew of 23, whose condition is presently not known.

According to a report from Voice of America, Somali pirates said they have evacuated 19 crew members from the hijacked ship, Panama-flagged cargo carrier MV Orna,  that caught fire on June 15. The ship's crew remains held by the pirates.   Source: Voice of America

The afternoon, March 29, the EU NAVFOR Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) from the Seychelles supported the Seychelles Coast Guard vessel Topaz to locate and apprehend a hijacked ship. Robust action from the Topaz ensured the release of 27 hostages: nine pirates have been captured. Early the morning of March 29, the EU NAVFOR Force Commander, Adm Giovanni Gumiero, tasked the Seychelles Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) to support the Seychelles Coast Guard vessel Topaz in an anti piracy operation against three hijacked ships.

Early on the morning of 11 November a Greek owned (Marshall Island flagged) vessel named the MV Filitsa was hijacked in the south Somali Basin, 400 nautical miles North East of the Seychelles. The Bulk Carrier with a deadweight of 23,709 tonnes has a crew of 22 consisting of 3 Greek and 19 Philipino. The vessel that was heading for Durban, has now turned around and is heading north.

Early this morning on 11 November a Greek owned (Marshall Island flagged) vessel named the MV Filitsa was hijacked in the south Somali Basin, 400 nautical miles North East of the Seychelles. The Bulk Carrier with a deadweight of 23,709 tonnes has a crew of 22 consisting of 3 Greek and 19 Philipino. The vessel that was heading for Durban, has now turned around and is heading north.

On October 3, the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet released this photo of the crew of the MV Faina. The crew on the hijacked cargo ship appear to be in good health, the Navy reported. The ship's Russian captain died of a heart condition nearly two weeks ago, reports said. The Belize-flagged cargo ship, owned and operated by , , was seized by pirates Sept. 25 and forced to proceed to anchorage off the . The ship is carrying a cargo of Ukrainian T-72 tanks and related military equipment. According to recent reports, a Somali pirate on the hijacked cargo ship transporting tanks reduced the ransom to $8m.

A Panamanian ship docked safely at Calcutta on Friday, a day after it was hijacked near the port by an armed group, officials said. The ship, named Jubilee, with 23 people aboard, was carrying 4,482 tons of logs from Rangoon to Calcutta when a group of more than 200 people in boats forced it to stop 70 km (44 miles) short of Calcutta port on Thursday afternoon. "They were local miscreants who wanted the ship to unload its cargo on the riverside so that local people got employment," Calcutta Port Trust spokesman B.K. Sahu said. The deputy marine director of the Calcutta Port Trust, T.K. Das Chaudhury, said "more than 200 people boarded the ship and took away the captain yesterday (Thursday)".